NaNoWriMo 2016: Final Fantasy VII Short Fics
by jordypordy10
Summary: A collection of short Final Fantasy VII ficlets I'm writing for NaNoWriMo 2016 (complete).
1. Day 1: Zombie AU

**Author's Note:**

Hey y'all! For NANOWRIMO 2016 I set out to write one short Final Fantasy VII fic a day for the month of November. I'll posting them a day or two after I write them. Most will be dumb AUs I thought of, expansion of headcanons I have or just simple, silly stuff. This will _mostly_ be ship free, but there are a few sprinkled in here and there. They will be clearly marked as a ship fic and what ship it has in it. I have _not_ played or experienced Dirge of Cerberus so if anything I write contradicts canon established in that, oops.

Hope you have a fun time reading these!

 **Note 12/3/16:**

So I didn't write every day in November and I wanted to round off on an even 14 days, but I spent the last day of November puking my brains out, sadly. But 13 days of writing is a lot for me. This was a lot of fun to do, and a great experience over all for me!

Day 1: Zombie AU

Note: Something self-indulgent I thought of yesterday on Halloween. I'm one of three people on the planet not sick of zombies ha ha. Either way, it was fun developing my own type of infected and Geostigma proved to be the perfect starting point. Not an action packed zombie fic, my favorite parts of zombie apocalypses is how it affects the human condition.

 **Also, suicide content warning, it's a major part of the fic.**

Hope you enjoy!

 _The planet was a lot angrier than we thought._

 _They call it Geostigma. People think it was caused when the Lifestream appeared. At first, they thought it was just a disease. People would get these gross black markings all over their bodies and it would hurt a lot and black goo would seek out of them. It was sad, but everyone moved on as they tried to rebuild._

 _But then the people started to change. The black stuff would spread all over their bodies until they were almost completely covered in it. After a few days, people with the sickness would go crazy and attack their friends and family. At first it wasn't bad but now more and more people are sick and more and more people are going crazy. There are a lot of them now. They move slowly, but some of them can run really fast for a little while. Those ones are the scariest._

 _A few days ago, one of them bit my arm. Papa cried a lot that day. At first only the place where I was bit hurt, but now I hurt all over my entire body. I told Papa and he said that the pain will be gone very soon, he'll make sure of it._

 _I hope he's right._

Nanaki had said that Cosmo Canyon would be safe. "Nobody there is infected." He had sounded so sure. The howl of despair he let out when the group arrived to the canyon engulfed in flames was gut wrenching.

They considered going to the Forgotten Capitol next, figuring that the power of the ancients may have repelled the evil that now consumed the world. As it turns out, everyone thought that as well. The city was overwhelmed. Bodies littered the ground and those with the stigma shambled through the water and long abandoned buildings.

Junon. Kalm. Rocket Town. Nibelheim. Everywhere they went, it was the same scene of death and destruction. Every now and then they would encounter a survivor only to find out they had been infected days later. Most of the members opted to abandon helpless cases like that, but Vincent was adamant about putting them out of their misery before they could hurt anyone.

The Highwind ran out of fuel pretty quickly, forcing them to travel on foot. If they were lucky, they would find a herd of Chocobos but catching a bird without any greens was more difficult than it was worth. And if they did manage to catch one, that was only _one_ for a group of seven people.

The group stumbled upon a cottage near the ocean, a few miles from Costa del Sol. They all recognized it as the place they had gotten Great Gospel for Aerith. It housed an infected man and two bodies- a woman and a little boy, both with a gunshot wound to the head. The man was disposed of without much problem, and the family was cremated with a mastered Fire Materia without much fanfare.

Being only a few miles from the resort town, Cloud, Barret and Yuffie decided to do some recon to determine if anything was salvageable. They returned a few hours later with bloodied clothes and bags of food and bottled water.

Everyone was comfortable in that little house. There was only one bed, but no one really minded. They swapped who slept in it every night. It was relatively quiet, with very little interferences from the infected. Even Costa del Sol had been cleared within a matter of days.

All was good in their nightmare world until Cloud left the house one night.

He had excused himself so suddenly and left the cottage without a word. Assuming he had gone to relieve himself, nobody questioned it. Suspicions grew when he didn't return after twenty minutes or so.

Tifa volunteered to check on him. No one objected, she knew him better than any of them and if he was going through one of his moods, she would be the best person to bring him out of it.

"Cloud?" She called into the night. It was clear and the moon was full, giving her a good view of the surrounding area. "It's not safe to be out by yourself."

She walked around the back of the house, continuing her conversation with nobody. "Even with that huge sword-"

"Tifa…" A slow, coarse voice caught her off guard. Turning in the direction of the voice, she recognized the spiky silhouette of Cloud Strife standing with his back to her, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. One false step and he would crash down into the ocean.

"Cloud!" She called out to him. "What have you been doing? Everyone's worried."

"I'm sorry." He still wasn't looking at her.

"Then come back in, knucklehead."

"I…can't." Tifa suddenly noticed how labored his breathing seemed to be. He took pauses between words. Concerned, she stepped forward but came to an abrupt halt when he half turned towards her, sticking out a hand to stop her. She still couldn't see his face. "Don't come any closer."

"What's going on?" She whimpered, feeling faintly scared. "You're scaring me."

"I didn't want you to see me like this. I didn't want anyone too. I was going to…"

"See you like what?" She demanded to know, although her voice wavered ever so slightly.

Cloud hesitated and slowly turned fully towards her. Her eyes widened in horror. His face was almost completely caked in black and the arm he didn't have a sleeve over was dripping with dark goo. The whites of his eyes were dark and black water dripped from them like tears. The only thing signifying he wasn't completely gone were his pupils- mindless infected have slits. His were still round. But for how long?

Stifling a scream, she covered her mouth in shock. "You have Geostigma." She finally managed to say.

"I killed an infected the other day. Some of the stigma got into my eye." He avoided her gaze. "I didn't want to tell anyone."

"You were just going to let us find you infected and mindless tomorrow morning?" Tifa asked weakly.

"Not exactly." He glanced down to his hand. Tifa followed his gaze and her already broken heart shattered even more.

"That's Vincent's." Terrified, she had to control the volume of her voice.

"Yeah, tell him I'm sorry for wasting a bullet." He chuckled. "Ol' Buster would have been too difficult. And painful. I was just sitting out here trying to work up the courage to do it." Nonchalantly, he raised the gun to his head and rested the muzzle against his temple. He smiled gently and closed his eyes in apparent contentment. "Seeing your reaction to how horrifying I am… thanks Tifa. And, tell everyone I'm sorry."

"Cloud, no!" She ran forward, determined to push the gun out of his hand. She realized too late there was no stopping him.

The shot rang through the night, drowning out Tifa's scream of anguish.


	2. Day 2: Red XIII and Marlene

Day 2: Red XIII and Marlene

Note: I'm an early childhood education major, I had to write something about mostly Marlene at some point. Hope you enjoy this cute, silly thing I came up with.

Marlene was a little ball of pent up excitement as they approached Cosmo Canyon. She had heard _so_ much about this Nanaki fellow and now she's finally getting a chance to meet him. He had invited the members of AVALANCHE to the canyon for a feast to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Meteor Fall.

Cid picked everyone up in the Highwind, but made _sure_ they knew he was working on a new and better airship. Almost every other word out his mouth was about the Shera, but everyone managed to drown him out. It was the first time they had all been together since they parted ways after defeating Sephiroth, so there was a lot pf catching up to do. Yuffie was in training to become the next leader of Wutai (although from the way she talked about it, she wasn't taking it very seriously), Vincent was taking on jobs as a bounty hunter and Reeve was trying to start something he called the World Regenesis Organization, although he wouldn't say what it actually was.

Marlene _loved_ the Highwind. She would run up and down the stairs, laughing and yelling. Yuffie would play tag with her and always win. She also loved the Chocobo they kept aboard and often admired the creature's shimmering gold feathers

"Does it have a name, Papa?" She asked.

"Cloud just calls it 'Bird'. " Barret laughed when Marlene pouted deeply, apparently displeased with Cloud's naming abilities.

The ride to Cosmo Canyon didn't take long, around nine hours. They had to land a few miles away, as per Red's request. "Cosmo Canyon is a sacred place to study the Planet," he had explained during their adventure to stop Meteor, "to disrupt its tranquility with this ship's noise and exhaust would be disrespectful." And as such, Cid always made sure to never fly directly over the canyon and always land where he would not disrupt the wildlife.

It was a few miles walk to the canyon and Marlene _begged_ Cloud to let her ride Bird. After much persistent whining, the threat of Marlene crying and Barret threatening to bash his head in if Marlene did cry, Cloud begrudgingly agreed. As Marlene didn't have any riding experience, she simply sat on the saddle as Cloud guided the Chocobo via reins that were wrapped around its beak.

The sun was setting by the time they reached the entrance. Cloud hitched Bird to a post near the stairwell leading into the canyon and Barret picked Marlene off its back. As they trekked up the stairs, Marlene could barely contain her excitement as she asked question after question.

"She sure is excited to meet Nanaki!" Tifa laughed at one point. "I'm sure he'll be delighted to meet you, Marlene."

"Poor Red," Cloud mumbled, "Emerald Weapon is nothing compared to the wrath of an overly excited five year-old."

"His name is Nanaki." Tifa scolded him.

"We knew him for _four months_ before we learned his real name." Cloud replied coolly, "It would feel weird to call him anything else. It's not like he cares anyway." Yuffie and Reeve jumped in to support him, while Cid and Vincent took Tifa's side as a petty argument broke out among them.

"Papa," Marlene asked, "what are they talking about? Who's Nanaki?"

"Nanaki is Red, sweet pea." Barret thought carefully about how to explain the situation to his daughter. "When we first met Red, he was being… tested on by a very cruel man. He didn't care about any heritage any of his test subjects had and ended up calling him Red XIII. We found out later that Red's real name is Nanaki."

"But if his real name is Nanaki," she stumbled over the word slightly, "why do some of you call him Red?"

"Well, it's like spiky-ass over there said, we knew him for a very long time before we learned his real name. It just felt more natural to call him Red. He really doesn't care."

"Hmmmm," Marlene hummed in thought, "I think I'll call him Red. It's easier to say."

"That's my baby girl." Barret chuckled.

By the time they got to the village entrance, the argument had settled down with no real winner. The man guarding the gate allowed them through without any issue. Marlene was in awe with her new surroundings; she had never been anywhere quite like it. "This place is so pretty!" She gasped.

They all walked over to the Cosmo Candle, where Red XIII was waiting for them. They all greeted him warmly and Barret approached him. "Hey Red, long time no see."

Nanaki bowed his head respectfully. "As to you, Barret." He sniffed the air and made eye contact with Marlene. "I take this is your daughter, Marlene."

"Observant as ever." Barret chortled. "Marlene, what do you have to say to Red?" But Marlene remained quiet. Concerned, Barret glanced down to see her with her mouth agape and eyes wider than he had ever seen them before. "Marle-"

"RED IS A PUPPY?" She yelled running forward and wrapping her arms around his neck and smooshing her face against his cheek. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"

"Did you not tell her I was not human?" Nanaki breathed in shock. Barret shrugged, stifling a laugh. Apparently, nobody had passed the message on to Marlene. "Marlene, could you please let go of me?"

"Okay doggy!" She obliged happily. She glanced around quickly and picked up a stray stick and waved it around in front of his face. "Fetch!" She tossed it away and it bounced off the side of a shack before resting on the ground.

Red stayed where he was and side eyed Barret. He suddenly became aware of the chorus of laughter coming from behind him.

"Go on!" Reeve encouraged him. "You don't want to make her sad, do you?"

"If you make her sad, Barret will probably bash your head in." Cloud added smugly.

Flattening his ears, Red cursed under his breath. He ran after the stick, much to Marlene's delight and everyone else's amusement, suddenly _very_ grateful he was the last of his kind. At least he would never have to deal with children.


	3. Day 3: Role Swap AU

Day 3: Role Swap AU

Note: This one ran a bit long. Oops!

It was supposed to be a routine job. Sephiroth and newly promoted SOLDIER First Class Cloud Strife were to go to the Nibelheim reactor, clear out some monsters, do some quick repairs and call it a day. Cloud had been so excited to visit his hometown after being away for so long. The entire ride there he talked excitedly to an infantryman he had befriended, a vibrant youth named Zack. Going on and on about his mother's cooking, some girl named Tifa, the view from the top of Mount Nibel. It went on and on. Sephiroth liked Cloud, he had mentored him after all, but he found his boundless enthusiasm a bit grating.

When they arrived in Nibelheim, everything went well. Cloud eagerly greeted a young lady dressed in cowboy attire- Tifa, Sephiroth presumed- and showed everyone around town. Cloud's mother, a kind middle aged woman who looked remarkably like her son, treated them to dinner that night.

The next day, with Tifa as their guide, they set off to the Mako Reactor. Sephiroth could tell Cloud was upset at the reactor's negative effects to the nature of the mountain, but remained silent for fear of bad talking Shinra. Even Sephiroth had to admit to himself that while Mako was a benefit to society, the toll it took on the planet was a bit much.

As they entered the reactor, Sephiroth overheard Zack stop Tifa from following after them. "Cloud told me to make sure you stay safe." He couldn't help but crack a little smile when the girl stomped her foot in indignation.

Cloud was inside, peering eagerly into a pod of some kind. Noticing his comrade's entrance, he stepped to the side and motioned towards it with his head. "Check this out." Sephiroth took a look inside and was taken aback from the monstrosity he made eye contact with.

It was humanoid but not exactly human. Covered in dark growths, the creature looked like it horns. A permanent scowl lined its face and its eyes had an animalistic hunger to them.

"What are they?" Cloud asked.

"Horrific experiments," Sephiroth turned away from the monster, "people who were exposed to lethal amounts of Mako energy for much too long. They turned into these… things."

"Mako…" Cloud repeated the word, a blank look on his face. He glanced down to his hand, forming a fist then letting go. "You normal SOLDIERS are injected with it right? To help enhance your abilities?"

"'Normal' SOLDIERS?" Sephiroth asked curiously. "Are you implying you're not a typical SOLDIER?" He chuckled at the thought, but the smirk fell from his face when he saw how distressed Cloud looked. He was staring at his hand again.

"Normal? Am…am I normal?" He glanced over to the pod. "Was I made… like those creatures?"

"Cloud, what are you talking about?"

Shaking his head, Cloud seemed to regain his composure. "I… I don't know. I'm sorry." He seemed visibly shaken. "Let's just get this job done and get out of here." Nodding, Sephiroth walked across the room and began fiddling with valves in switches.

It was a few minutes later when he realized Cloud wasn't working anymore. Glancing around the room, he finally spotted his blond companion in front of a door at the top of the stairwell. He was staring intensely at words written across the wall, above the door. Concerned about him after his previous outburst, Sephiroth walked up to him.

"Cloud?"

"Jenova…" Cloud muttered to no one. It was like he was in a trance.

"Cloud!" Sephiroth repeated. Cloud flinched and seemed to have returned to reality. He turned to him, blue eyes alit with confusion. "Let's get out of here. You seem tired." Silently, Clouded nodded in agreement.

When they arrived back to town, Cloud made a beeline for a large mansion sitting on the edge of the village. Tifa explained that it was owned by Shinra and that no one had lived there for a very long time.

He spent days on end in the mansion. The lights in the basement never went out. Whenever Sephiroth went to check on him, he was pouring over books for some kind. He never replied when talked to. It left Sephiroth with an uneasy feeling. He felt it was partially his responsibility to make sure his former pupil was okay, but decided against poking around too much. Cloud was First Class now, he could take care of himself. And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong as he laid down for the night.

The thick smell of smoke filled Sephiroth's nostrils, bolting him awake. Nibelheim was on fire. _Cloud_. It pained him, but it was the first thing that came to his head. Cloud caused this. Sprinting out of bed, he dodged flames as he exited the inn and entered the town square. His immediate thought was to help survivors escape but a shrill scream caught his attention. Horrified, he realized it came from Cloud's house.

He yanked the door to the house open and almost yelled in shock. Cloud was standing with his back to him, his Buster Sword in hand by his side. It was covered in red. A pool of blood was forming at Cloud's feet and although the body was obscured by smoke and flames, Sephiroth knew that he had killed his mother. Cloud turned his head slowly towards him, an almost maniacal look on his face.

"Cloud!" He screamed at him, stifling a cough. "What are you doing!?"

"She lied to me." He whispered. "They all lied to me. Tifa, this wench I called 'mother', the entire town." He placed his hand to his forehead and cackled before abruptly stopping and meeting Sehpiroth's gaze. " _You_ lied to me."

"What are you-" But Sephiroth didn't have time to finish his question. Cloud was on top of him, swinging his sword with the intent to kill. It was pure luck that Sephiroth was able to pull Masmune out in time to stop the attack. Sephiroth jumped back, landing back in the center of town.

"Don't play dumb!" Cloud shouted as he attempted to strike Sephiroth again.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sephiroth shouted back, blocking his blows. The two danced around the flames as if intricately choreographed.

"Ahg, I've had enough of this!" Cloud snarled eventually. "Mother is waiting for me." Before Sephiroth even had time to open him mouth, Cloud swung his arm out in front of him. A peach color aura engulfed Sephiroth and he suddenly found himself unable to move. _Time Materia_ he realized much too late. He could only watch helplessly as his former friend turned away and headed towards the Mount Nibel trail. A few moments later two figures he recognized as Tifa and Zack ran after him. He wanted nothing more to yell out at them to warn them to not try to stop him but he couldn't.

Sephiroth was acutely aware of the fire spreading around him. There would be nothing he could do if he went up in flames. Luckily, before that had the chance to happen, he regained the ability to move his fingers and seconds later, his whole body. He knew he should stay to search for survivors but a sickening feeling in his stomach told him there weren't any. Rage filled his heart as he headed for the Mako Reactor.

The door to the reactor was already open as Sephiroth ran to stop Cloud. Zack was slumped over the pods in the room, uniform ripped and bleeding profusely. Tifa was standing in front of Cloud, who was at the top of the stairs.

"Cloud, why are you doing this!?" She screamed through tears.

"Shut up you traitor!" Cloud yelled. In the blink of an eye, he drew his sword and slashed the girl across the chest, causing her to catapult down the stairs. Without so much as a second glance, he entered the room marked "Jenova".

Sephiroth ran to Tifa and was relieved to see that the wound wasn't deep. "W-why…?" She sobbed quietly. "Why would he do this to us?" She hiccupped and closed her eyes, passing out from exhaustion. Placing her gently on the ground, Sephiroth stood back up and drew his blade.

Cloud had to be stopped.

He ran up the stairs and paused at the entrance in awe at the robotic bust that greeted him. He was only able to view it for a split second before, in an incredible show of strength, Cloud grabbed it, ripped it from its circuitry and tossed it to the side, revealing the true Jenova. A vaguely feminine form encased in a glass tube.

"Mother…" Cloud's voice shook as he delicately placed a hand on the glass. "I heard you, I heard you calling for me. I'm here. We'll take back this world together." His voice lowered in anger. "I killed that woman. The woman who lied to me. How _dare_ she tell me she was my mother? They lied. They all did. My whole life. But now I know the truth. Now that you're here."

"CLOUD!" Sephiroth shouted in rage. He ran forward, plummeting the Masamune through Cloud's body with all the strength he could muster. The glass cracked as the sword impacted it. "I trusted you! I mentored you! How could you do this to Zack? To Tifa? To your own mother?" Had he been the cause of this? Had he unintentionally trained a monster?

Withdrawing his blade, Cloud slumped to his knees, breathing heavily and bleeding out. Assuming that death would come to him soon, Sephiroth turned away in disdain and returned to the pod room.

He cast a Cure on Zack to help stop the bleeding. Although he knew neither of them were conscious, he announced that he would be back soon with help.

He walked to the catwalk in the connecting room and stopped in his tracks when he heard footsteps behind him. "How?" He gasped, turning around to see Cloud standing, bleeding having stopped and holding what he recognized to be Jenova's head.

"So long as I have mother with me," he breathed, "I am a god."

"Even gods can be defeated!" Sephiroth roared. He went to draw Masamune again but his hand hadn't even grabbed the hilt when a sharp and intense pain ripped through his body. Cloud had impaled him with the Buster Sword. One handed, he raised the sword as well as Sephiroth.

"Don't push your luck." He grinned.

Sephiroth's vision went red and as if under the control from outside force, gripped the edges of the blade. Cloud's face changed from an expression of confidence to one of shock. Gritting his teeth in determination, Sephiroth pulled the blade from his body. Landing on his feet back on the catwalk, he swung it and Cloud to the side with all his might.

He was vaguely aware of Cloud's scream as he fell into the Mako below. Adrenaline coursed through Sephiroth's veins before suddenly being overtaken by exhaustion. Collapsing, he heard more people enter the reactor as the world faded to black.


	4. Day 4: Flower Crowns

Day 4: Flower Crowns

Note: Sorry for no update yesterday! The official Sonic the Hedgehog twitter was hosting a 24 hour livestream and I kinda sorta got really distracted. (If you happened to watch it, I donated as 'Mrs. Cloud Strife' 3 times!)

 **This is a Zaerith (Zack/ Aerith) ficlet.**

Zack liked to spend all of the time he could in that church in the slums. It served as a nice change of scenery from the robust and bright views he say from the Shinra building. The slums smelled kind of bad, it was dimly lit because of the plates and the sounds of trains rumbling overhead was loud and grating but slums had a unique charm to them. Oh, and of course Aerith was there. Aerith was a _big_ part of why he enjoyed the slums so much.

Vibrant and seemingly always smiling, she was a beacon of light shining through the shadows of the Sector 6. She also brightened up Zack's own life. Things were kind of rocky back at Shinra with all the deserters, but she never failed to make his day better. Even if couldn't find the time to actually go down and visit her, even a give minute phone call could make him smile from ear to ear.

Today was one of the lucky days he didn't have any missions. He felt _slightly_ bad for turning down Kunsel's offer to train together, but his friend laughed it off and said he understood. Her voice was bright and happy when he spoke to her over the phone on the train. He felt that today was going to be a _great_ day.

She was waiting for him at the train platform, a warm smile on her face. They embraced happily; Zack hadn't been able make time to visit her in a few weeks and felt awful about it. Every phone call ended with "I'm so sorry I couldn't come again today," but Aerith always assured him that everything was fine and that his SOLDIER duties were more important than she was.

They strolled idly through the Wall Market, taking time to do some window shopping. There were retailers selling all sorts of armor, weapons and Materia and Zack inwardly cursed that he was only allowed to shop at Shinra approved locations.

"What if someone just so happened to buy that stuff _for_ you?" Aerith teased after Zack had spent some time ogling at some high grade, naturally formed Materia.

"What? I could never ask you to do something like that." He sounded serious, but then laughed. "I mean, I wouldn't stop you if you did but I'd feel bad that you spent gil on me."

"Well if _someone_ would help me build a flower wagon you wouldn't have to worry about me spending gil." She sounded accusatory, but still light hearted.

"Hey!" Zack defended himself. "I've been busy, plus there's the issue of supplies. Wood, wheels, an instruction booklet…" He counted on his fingers as he listed the materials out.

"I know, I know." Aerith playfully shoved his arm and giggled. "I'm teasing you."

They continued to laugh and joke with each other as they walked to the church. Aerith would ask about how things were going at Shinra, and Zack would tell her as much as he could. "I'm so close to being promoted to First, I can't risk letting important information out." And in response, Zack would ask about how Aerith's life was going; how her mother was doing, how the flowers were blooming and other similar topics.

"The flowers are beautiful!" Aerith told him excitedly. "Some new colors bloomed! They don't usually last very long, but they're beautiful to look at."

"I can't wait to see them!" Zack exclaimed, flashing a toothy grin.

And she was right. Sprinkled within the usual white and yellow flowers in the decrepit church were splashes of purple, red and orange. They grew in small clusters within the miniature field, making it almost look like an artist's pallet.

"They look so pretty!" Zack complimented as he sat on the floor near the flowers, crossing his legs. "How'd you get these other colors to grow?"

Giggling, Aerith took a seat beside him. "I'm not entirely sure to be honest. They tend to bloom whenever they want to, stay for a few days and then wilt."

"Kind of like dumbapples." Zack observed. Aerith cast him a curious glance and he quickly explained how the Banora White Apple grows at random times of the year. She nodded in understanding, and a slight frown crossed Zack's face. "But unlike dumbapples, you can't really do anything with these flowers if they die after such a short amount of time, can you?"

"Hm…" Aerith put her finger to her chin in thought and a flash of inspiration appeared across her face. "I have an idea, you wait right here." She stood up and delicately entered the field of flowers.

Zack watched her as she very carefully walked around, doing her best to avoid stepping on any flowers. Almost methodically, she picked certain ones by the stem until she had handful of all the colors. She made her way back over to Zack, a smile on her face. She sat facing away from him and began fiddling with the flowers.

"What'cha doing?" Zack asked, trying to peek over her shoulder. Aerith turned her head to meet his eyes and laughed, placing her finger on his nose gently.

"It's a surprise." She said simply. "You'll have to wait and see." Zack pouted, making her laugh and return to whatever it was she was doing. He leaned back and crossed his arms in slight annoyance.

After a few minutes, Aerith pronounced that she was done and turned around. In her hands were flowers woven together to form what looked like a headpiece of some sort.

"What's that?" Zack asked.

"It's a flower crown." She said happily. She leaned forward and placed in gently on Zacks head, a proud smile plastered across her face. "Ah, you look adorable!"

Zack glanced upward, trying to get a view of the crown. "Do I?" He chortled. "Well," he delicately removed it from his head and placed it on Aerith's, "it looks even adorable-er on you."

"That's not even a word!"

"Exactly! It looks so cute I had to make up a new word to describe just how cute it is."

"While I'm flattered," she placed it back on Zack's head, "I made it for you and I expect you to wear it for the rest of the day."

Panic aligned Zack's face. "A-all day? Isn't that a bit embarrassing?"

"Welllll, if you say so," her voice sounded almost sing-song like, "I _was_ gonna say if you DID wear it all day I'd go on a date with you. But, alas if it's embarrassing…."

That perked Zack up immediately and he smiled in defeat. "Well, I guess wearing it all day isn't that bad." It's not like anyone from Shinra would see him after all. He would take it off on the train ride up back to plate.

"Fantastic!" Aerith clapped her hands together in delight. "Now come on, let's go. I have lunch reservations at a really nice restaurant near the Shinra headquarters!"

The smile from Zack's face fell as Aerith grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the entrance of the church.


	5. Day 5: Super Smash Bros

Day 5: Super Smash Bros.

Note: You can blame Vinny Vinesauce's playthrough of Crisis Core for making me realize that Zack and Sonic are literally the same character. Also, this takes a lot of things from a few unfinished Smash Bros. fics I have, mainly that all the characters are very aware they are in a video game.

This features harsher language than usual.

Cloud _hated_ Sonic the Hedgehog more than anyone could ever imagine. Take the rage he felt towards Sephiroth, multiply that by ten and that's how much he despised that blue rodent. He was cocky, wise-cracking, always playing up his own heroism and could never seem to sit still. It drove Cloud crazy and for a very long time, he couldn't quite place why he hated him so much. And then one day, a horrible thought struck him.

Sonic the Hedgehog reminded him way too much of Zack Fair.

The realization came to him during a training session with the hedgehog; his first time fighting him actually. Cloud had been in the mansion for a few months by that and Sonic was one of the only fighters he hadn't had a match against. When the request came through, Cloud eagerly accepted. It would be almost _therapeutic_ to beat the snot out of him. Sonic was fifth on the tier list, but Cloud sat comfortably at the top. He was going to have fun with this.

The stage was chosen at random, so they ended up at Temple. Cloud couldn't remember the last time he hadn't fought on a non-Omega form stage, so he eagerly looked forward to this change of pace. He arrived there fist, surprising given his opponent. He wasn't waiting there long, however, before a rush of wind blew past him, whipping up dust and leaves. Sonic stopped a few feet away, a cocky grin on his face. He jogged in place excitedly and hopped up and down a few times.

"Aw yeah! This is happenin'!" He exclaimed. Cloud's eyes widened and his face drooped into a disturbed frown. In that moment he could just see his black haired friend excitedly jogging in place before dropping into squats and finally finishing by saying that exact phrase before starting a mission.

"No." Cloud breathed in disbelief. Sonic's ears flicked and the smirk reappeared on across his face.

"What's the matter? You're not gonna _rain_ on my parade and quit are you, Cloud?" He laughed hysterically at his own joke.

No. _No._ He was _not_ going to let this prick tarnish all the memories he had of Zack. "Oh quite the opposite," Cloud snarled, "I'm going to _kick your ass._ "

"I'd like to see you try." Sonic took up a fighting pose, and clapped his hands. A loud, disembodied voice started to count down from three and the two competitors jumped towards each other, determined to come out on top.

Cloud won very easily. Most of the smash ended up in what the mansion residents referred to as the "Fight Club" towards the bottom of stage allowing him to beat down on Sonic very easily. Yet despite the victory, the panic Cloud felt didn't go away.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Cloud was pounding on the door to Shulk's room. The swordsman from the Bionis had befriended Cloud on his first day living in the mansion and as a result the blond had taken him under his wing as an apprentice. "Shulk!" Cloud yelled as bashed the door so hard he was surprised it didn't dent. The door opened so suddenly, Cloud almost ended up punching is friend in the face.

"What's up?" Shulk asked. Cloud had long gotten used to his weird accent and was one of the only people in the mansion who could fully understand what he was saying.

Cloud placed his hands on Shulk's shoulders and shook him. He made direct eye contact with him. "ZACK." He said loudly. "He reminds me of Zack."

"W-what are you talking about?" Shulk replied equally as loud, almost mimicking Cloud in how panicked he sounded.

"Sonic." Shulk's eyes widened and his face hardened. Nodding he stepped aside, allowing Cloud into his room.

Shulk's room was a recreation of his laboratory from his home on the Bionis, with an actual living quarters attached via a door on the far wall. Cloud slumped into a chair, placing the Buster Sword haphazardly on a nearby table. He held his face in his hands. Shulk pulled a chair up in front of him, having the back rest face Cloud. Shulk wrapped his legs around it and folded his arms on the top back rest before resting his chin atop of those. They stayed in silence for several minutes.

"Cloud… are… are you okay?" Shulk finally asked delicately.

"I don't know." Cloud didn't raise his head and spoke into his hands. "I really, really don't know." He finally raised his head after Shulk placed a hand on his shoulder in support.

"Okay, _why_ do you think Sonic reminds you of Zack?" He asked.

Cloud took a deep breath and straightened his back out. He closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. "It was the way he acted. I've never really spent much time around Sonic, I've only seen him from afar. You know at dinner how he's always talking louder than everyone else?" Shulk nodded. "That's all I've really seen of him. But today I fought him. And he said things that I could literally hear Zack repeating in my head."

"What did he say?" Shulk inquired.

"'Aw yeah! This is happenin'!'" Cloud repeated the words and only just realized how stupid it sounded. "It… sounded better when Sonic said it. But man, I could HEAR Zack saying that before a mission. It really fucked me up."

"Okay, so you just need to remember that Sonic is not Zack and you should be fine, right?" Cloud suddenly realized Shulk was acting as an impromptu therapist of sorts but he really didn't care.

"I know that but it all makes sense. The wise cracks, the dumb jokes, that sense of heroism Sonic has. Zack is the exact same way."

"Then why do you hate him?"

"Because Zack's cool and not annoying." He stated matter-of-factly. Shulk laughed.

"Okay, then just think of things to separate Zack from Sonic in your mind." Shulk suggested.

"Well," Cloud glanced at the Buster Sword and smiled warmly, "Sonic doesn't use a sword. So at least I can look at the Buster Sword and remember Zack fondly in that way."

"Uh, actually…" Shulk said hesitantly. Cloud felt his heart sink. "Sonic, uh, has used a sword before."

Cloud thrust his face back into hands again and screamed in despair.


	6. Day 6: Cloud and Tifa

Day 6: Cloud and Tifa

Note: I'm not the best at writing action scenes, but I tried my best.

"Are you _sure_ you wanna do this?" Tifa smirked, cracking her knuckles.

"Of course I am." Cloud remarked almost bitterly, rolling his neck. "I need to see how that extra training I've been doing has been paying off."

Tifa almost retorted with a line about how he could use a giant sword that can _split into multiple swords_ and didn't need to be a master of hand-to-hand combat but bit her lip. She wouldn't lie to herself though, fighting Cloud was going to be fun.

They were outside of Edge, a few miles away from the ruins of Midgar. They had laid down the rules on their way there: no Materia or potions of any kind and the fight would end when someone said uncle or couldn't move anymore. No holding back.

Standing a few yards away from each other, the two entered fighting stances. Seeing Cloud prepared to fight without his sword was an unusual sight and even he looked slightly uncomfortable to not be holding it.

Without a word, they exchanged confirmation that they were ready to start with a simple glance. In the blink of an eye they were rushing towards each other. Cloud was faster than her in almost every possible way due to being infused with Mako, but that didn't mean she couldn't read his movements. Even as they ran towards each other, she noticed him winding up for a punch. His eyes quickly darted to her upper body.

She was easily able to deflect his attack. Grabbing his fist in her hand, she reveled in look of disbelief Cloud had. She didn't have a chance to hold onto that feeling for very long though; she kneed him in the stomach and in a fluid motion tossed him to the side. Dust billowed as he slid across the desolate ground.

Feeling a bit cocky, Tifa sauntered over to where Cloud laid. "You can quit now and save yourself the embarrassment now if you want, I won't tell anyone."

"I'm just getting started." Cloud growled. Tifa gasped as she felt her feet slip out from under her. Cloud, in a movement that almost seemed dance move, had spun upwards and kicked her ankles hard enough to make her lose balance. She caught herself just in time to avoid a blow from Cloud's fist by sidestepping behind him.

In the same movement, she planted a kick to the middle of his back, causing him to stumble forward. Immediately after, she hit his side with a spin kick. Wincing in pain, he grasped his side. Using this opening, she aimed a punch for his cheek but was stopped when Cloud grabbed her arm.

Caught off guard, she gave Cloud the opportunity hit her square in the nose. She instinctively grabbed it and felt blood. She barely had time to register that before Cloud kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Cloud attempted to knee her in the chin, but she rolled out the way and jumped to her feet.

She couldn't help but smile as she wiped the blood tricking from her nose. She charged at him and he unsuccessfully tried to avoid her attack, but she saw his dodge coming. At the last moment, she stepped to the inside of his body and elbowed him in the gut. Stunned, she planted the palm of her hand to Cloud's forehead, making him stumble. Tifa then kicked low, aiming for his knees. He yelled in pain as his legs buckled beneath him. As he fell, Tifa kicked him in the temple making him fall.

He barley caught himself as he landed. On all fours, he tried to stand up but Tifa appeared him front of him and kicked upwards, hitting his jaw. Cloud fell backwards and Tifa picked him by his jacket and grinned. "Ready to give up?"

Cloud grunted and she was surprised to see him smile back. "Not even close." He swung upwards, hitting her cheek. Letting go of him, Cloud used his freedom to strike her hip with his foot. He let out a full on barrage, punching Tifa's shoulders to unsteady her before finally landing a kick square to her chest, knocking her back.

Landing on her feet, Tifa ducked and avoided an attempted strike from Cloud. She tried to knock his feet out from under him again, but he jumped away before she got the chance.

They stood a way's away from each other, panting. Both were covered in blood and dirt.

"You seem pretty tired." Cloud mocked her through his own heavy breathing.

"Says the guy who's panting like a dog." She laughed. "Ready to say 'uncle' yet?"

"Nope."

"Good!" Tifa yelled as she started to run towards him. "Cuz I'm not either!" She jumped and landed a spin kick to his shoulder. She attempted to follow through with a drop kick to his head, but he grabbed her leg. Using her surprise as an opening, Cloud landed an uppercut to her chin and then punched her in the chest.

Damn, he was better than she thought it would be. But he was tired, exhausted even. He had slowed down a lot since the fight started. One strong assault, and he would be done for. It was time to finish this.

Recovering from the hits, Tifa jabbed Cloud in the side, making him flinch. She landed a downward punch to his head and then immediately followed with an uppercut to the jaw. He fell backwards slightly and for a brief second he was completely vulnerable.

Using that precious time, Tifa followed a motion that she had done countless times before. She jumped up, planting a foot on his chest. Performing a flip, she kicked Cloud upside the head sending him upwards. As he fell, Tifa jumped and kicked him as hard as she could in the chest. He went flying and landed with a loud _thud_.

Slightly more defensive this time, she walked over to him and placed her foot on his chest causing him to groan.

"Well, Cloud? You still wanna fight?"

He cursed under his breath and closed his eyes in defeat. "Uncle…" He muttered in shame.

"Good." Tifa removed her foot and helped him stand up. "You did better than I thought you would, if that's any consolation."

Cloud avoided her gaze as they walked back to the truck they had used to get there. Feeling kind of bad, Tifa wondered if she could cheer him up by challenging him to a sword fight.


	7. Day 7: Barret and Cloud

Day 7: Barret and Cloud

Note: No update yesterday because the election made me sad.

I'm home from school for the long weekend and I'm going to attempt to date Barret to get the Platinum Trophy in the PS4 version of FFVII, so have something silly based on that.

In case this comes across the wrong way (ie homophobic somehow?) I want to state that I personally headcanon Cloud as being super bisexual and I mean no harm or ill will with this ficlet.

Harsh language warning.

It was the grand opening party for the Seventh Heaven's new incarnation in Edge. As part of the celebration, Tifa was giving drinks away on the house all night. Whether or not that was a good idea didn't really matter so long as everyone was having fun.

Everyone from AVALANCHE was there and everyone, even Vincent, looked like they were enjoying themselves. Some drank more than others, Red XII didn't drink at all, but they were all laughing and having a great time together. Even Marlene could get in on the festivities- there was a large supply of different types of juices for children her age to choose from.

The later it got, the less people would show up and eventually only the members of AVALANCHE were left in the bar. Marlene had grown tired and had Barret tuck her in in the living quarters on the second floor of the establishment. Having purposefully been drinking light all night to take care of his daughter, Barret happily indulged in as many drinks as Tifa offered him until he was suitably shitfaced.

Everyone was giggly and talking about whatever came to mind when Cloud came over and lazily wrapped his arm around Barret's shoulder. Despite his cool exterior most of the time, Cloud was extremely light weight when it came to drinking and was arguably the drunkest person in the building all night.

"Barret, holy SHIT," his voice was slurred and he could barely stand, "remember, holy shit, remember Gold Saucer?"

"Shit man!" Barret laughed loudly, banging his fist on the table in glee. He took swig of drink before continuing. "I 'member that! Fuckin', how could I forget such a great time I had with my best bro."

"Bro," Cloud repeated the word, taking a drink from the bottle he was holding. He fell into a chair and burped. "I dunno if it's the alcohol talking but man, that night was fucking great."

"Wait, wait." Reeve intervened. He and Vincent were probably the most sober of all of them, not counting Red XIII. They had been drinking lightly all night and could still form coherent thoughts. "What are you two talking about?"

"Reeve!" Barret yelled his name, making the ex-Shinra employee jump. "You of all people should know what I'm talkin' about man! Fuckin' took Marlene." He paused for a second before growing angry. "Wait you fucker you took Marlene! Where is she!?"

Tifa ran over and placed firm hand on his arm to stop him from getting up and punching Reeve in the face. "Barret, Marlene is upstairs sleeping. Remember, you tucked her in?" Tifa, despite being the owner of the bar, hadn't drank that much. She was buzzed at the most.

The hardened look on Barret's face softened and recollection alit in his eyes. "Shit, you're right." He laughed loudly again. "Gold Saucer man, what a trip."

"Care to explain what happened?" Red XIII asked. He was laying on the floor comfortably. "You seem to be more fit to tell us, given Cloud's current condition."

"Wuzzat s'posed to mean!?" Cloud defended himself.

"Ah shut your yap ya skinny ass." Barret silenced him. "You'd tell the story wrong anyway." Cloud grunted in designation before taking another drink in defeat.

"So, this was like right after Cloud fucked up and gave Sephiroth that Black Materia, right?" He laughed and surprisingly Cloud joined him. "When we was all at Gold Saucer at that spooky-ass hotel."

"I remember that!" Yuffie yelled cheerfully. Despite being so young, Yuffie could take more drinks than Cloud could. She had also been drinking sparingly throughout the night and was only now starting to display signs of being drunk. "I spent like, half of the gil we had on Chocobo races."

"So that's where that gil went…" Cloud said absently. His eyes widened as if he understood everything in the entire universe.

"ANYWAY," Barret continued raising his voice, "that night I decided to give my old buddy Cloud a visit, right?" Cloud nodded eagerly. "So we went out and enjoyed ourselves, dammit. Just two bros being dudes together."

"Yeah!" Cloud agreed, leaning forward and almost falling out of his chair. "It was great. 'Cept when we went to that play thing and got kicked out. Not being the 100th couple my ass."

"They was just being ignorant. There aint no problem with a black man being friends with a white dude." Barret mused.

"I uh, don't think that's what the problem was…" Reeve suggested cautiously.

"No one asked you Reeve!" Barret yelled, causing him to jump again. "Then after that we went on this cool fuckin' gondola ride thing."

"You weren't having a good time though." Cloud reminded him cheerily. "You were like 'why did ya wanna see fireworks with me?'"

"Nah, I had a great time man. I was just stressin' about all the shit that had happened earlier. Those fireworks were _damn_ pretty. Glad I went with ya Cloud." Barret sounded sincere through the hiccups and slurred speech and he smiled at Cloud.

The moment was ruined when Cid started cackling. "You're telling me you two went of a fucking _date_ at Gold Saucer?!" He was almost as drunk as the men he was talking too. "Woowee, why didn't you shitheads tell us earlier?!"

"Nah, it wasn't a date." Cloud dismissed Cid's statement with a wave of a hand. "It was just two buds spending the night together. Aint that right Barret?"

"Cloud's right. We were just bros being bros."

"But would ya do it again?" Cid egged them on, much to Tifa's disapproval judging by the glare she gave him. "Go on a… 'bro date'?"

"Fuck yeah!" Cloud exclaimed, standing up and wrapping his arm around Barret's should again. His speech was more difficult to understand than it was before and his eyes were drooping. "Barret's the best bud a guy could ask for." He finished the sentence and closed his eyes, passing out.

"Cloud's the fucking best." Barret chortled as Tifa lifted Cloud into a chair. Cid cackled loudly, slapping the table as Barret ordered another drink.


	8. Day 8: The Midgar Zolom

Day 8: The Midgar Zolom

Note: In my quest to date Barret, I'm also applying some skills I've learned while attempting to speedrun the PC version of FFVII and last night I successfully avoided the Midgar Zolom without fighting it or getting a Chocobo for the first time. So have some giant snake to celebrate that victory.

This one is really short, sorry!

"You're crazy, Cloud." Barret scolded.

"Listen, if you'd just-" Cloud started.

"I agree with Barret, this isn't a very smart idea." Aerith cut him off. Cloud threw his head back and sighed.

"Look, I know it's a giant snake but I heard in Kalm that it has an Enemy Skill-"

"What's the point of the Enemy Skill if we die!?" Barret got right in his face and yelled at him, causing Cloud to step back.

"Cloud," Tifa started calmly, "I know you're confident that we can fight but there's a Chocobo farm just over the hill. Why don't we just go the safe way?"

Sighing again, Cloud shook his head. When he spoke, he sounded ashamed. "Look, we're…kind of short on gil. We can't afford to rent a Chocobo. Or buy a Chocobo Lure or the greens we'd need catch one. We _have_ to fight the Midgar Zolom."

"What happened to all our gil!?" Tifa raised her voice.

"Where do you think all the new Materia came from!?" Cloud snapped back at her.

"Oh my God Cloud." Tifa turned to Aerith. "From now on, you're in charge of money management." Aerith giggled and nodded.

"All this bickering is getting us nowhere." Red XIII spoke up. His tail flicked with annoyance and he glanced towards the marshland. "We clearly have no choice on the matter."

"Thank you, Red." Cloud nodded. "Now, who wants to hold the Enemy Skill Materia?"

"I'll take it." Barret volunteered gruffly. He stepped forward and took the small yellow sphere from Cloud.

Mere moments after entering the marsh, the Zolom was in sight and all the members of AVALANCHE were prepped to fight.

"All right!" Cloud yelled as he jumped to avoid a swing of the Zolom's tail. "According to the guy I talked to in Kalm, he'll only do it when he's weakened to a certain extent!"

"What's the attack look like!?" Barret asked, unloading a shower of bullets to the Zolom's face.

"I have no idea!" Cloud responded, casting Cure on Red XIII, who had been struck by a bash of the Zolom's head. Barret cussed at him as he cast Bolt on the giant snake.

From a distance away

Fighting in the marsh proved to be annoying and difficult. The slippery foliage made it difficult to find solid footing and people slipped and fell multiple times. They quickly discovered that attacking its head was the best way to deal the most damage, but the only consistent way to do so was use Materia and they were running low on Ethers. As a result, switched focus to pounding on its body and tail.

Aerith had Bio'd it very early on, as evidenced by the faint green glow that emanated on it. After some time, the Zolom lifted its head up high and roared at them all.

"Barret, get ready!" Cloud shouted. "It's going to use it! Everyone, hold back a bit! We don't want to kill it yet!"

And so they did. Although they kept attacking it, they used weaker attacks. But still, despite their best efforts the Zolom eventually let out one last painful screech before falling to the ground.

"We-we did it!" Aerith gasped excitedly. "Cloud was right, we did it!"

"But…" Tifa said, concern edging her voice. "Did it use the Enemy Skill attack we needed?"

"Hell no it didn't!" Barret yelled as he threw the Materia at Cloud, who just barely caught it. "That Materia never glowed! You wasted all our damn times!"

Cloud lowered his head in defeat and placed his sword on the magnetic holder on his back. "Alright, everyone. We're heading back to Kalm; we have some Materia to get refunds on."


	9. Day 9: Twilight Princess AU

Day 9: Twilight Princess AU

Note: I feel like I'm apologizing every update now for a _lack_ of an update.

Anyway, you can thank Advent Children's wolf motif for this one. Also, despite this being my favorite Zelda game and beating it _again_ this past year, my memory of the order of events is hazy, so sorry for any inaccuracies.

In the matter of a day, Cloud Strife's life had been completely changed. What was supposed to be a simple delivery to Princess Aerith never happened and instead all hell broke loose. The children of Nibelheim, including his best friend Tifa, had been taken by a horde of monsters. Then he had been transformed into a wolf and imprisoned, only to be saved by an imp named Zack whose motivations were unclear. He wanted something called the Fused Shadows; said they would help stop the spread of Twilight through the land of Midgar. Now he stood in front of a pond outside his hometown, staring at a form who called herself Shiva in clothes he was unfamiliar with.

She told him a lot of things, and it was overwhelming. "You have the Triforce of Courage," Shiva explained. "You were bound to this destiny the day you were born."

"I don't get a choice!?" Cloud yelled in frustration. "Can't someone else do this?" Sure, he wanted to rescue Tifa and the children but having to save the entire world? It was a stressful and scary thought.

"Like the Hero who wore those clothes before you, this path is yours and yours alone." Shiva stated coldly. "The blood and courage of the Hero of old flows through you, young Cloud. You must bring the light spirits back to dispel the Twilight covering the land and defeat Rufus Shinra." With her final words, a cool blue light engulfed her as she sank back into the spring. When the light faded, fairies danced on the water's surface.

Cloud noticed his shadow moving beneath his feet and he jumped back a foot, almost falling back into the water when Zack suddenly took form in front of him. He was translucent this, a hazy black color that reminded Cloud of smoke.

"Wow, hero chosen by the gods huh?" He laughed and floated over to Cloud. He was surprised when the imp leaned onto his shoulder and didn't faze right through him. "Got some new duds too, not bad. Your arms look a bit scrawny though, now that the sleeves are gone, are you sure you'll be able to hold that huge sword?" With a grunt, Cloud tried to shoo his companion away, but he gracefully twirled back with a snicker.

Cloud sighed and ran his hand through his golden hair. "You said there was Fused Shadow near here, right?"

"Yeah there's one in the Forest Temple up that way," he waved his vaguely to show which direction "that way" was. "But, well… actually, I'll leave you to find out for yourself." He snickered and with a graceful spin returned to Cloud's shadow before the blond had the opportunity to grill him for more information. He groaned in defeat and looked in the direction Zack had motioned towards.

He knew exactly where Zack was talking about, but it would be quite the walk. He meandered over to some whistle glass, plucked it and placed it to his mouth. Blowing gently, the sweet melody he was so used to playing filled the still air. He grew concerned when he didn't hear Fenrir's hoof steps when the song ended. He was about to place the grass to his lips again when he suddenly realized Fenrir had ran away when the monsters attacked. Cursing, he threw the whistle grass to the ground and walked up the path.

He stopped suddenly when an imposing black wall appeared before him. "What the hell?" He mumbled. As if on cue, Zack appeared once more, a sly smile on his face. "What is this?" Cloud demanded.

"This leads into the Twilight. What, did you think this whole area was cleared because Nibelheim is all sunny again?"

"So, what do I have to do?" Cloud asked cautiously.

"Well why don't I help you through and you can figure that out?" Cloud's eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly. Without a word, Zack floated through the wall as if nothing was there. A moment passed before a giant hand protruded and grabbed Cloud. He screamed in shock as he was pulled through.

He blacked out momentarily, and when he awoke he found himself unable to stand on two legs. He tried to ask Zack what was going on, but barks came out instead. Realizing what was going on, he felt a small weight drop onto his back. He looked back to see Zack, now fully solid, grinning widely sitting atop of him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you'd be turned into a wolf again. My bad." Cloud growled at him and attempted to bit his leg, but Zack avoided him. "There isn't any time to waste, Cloud. How would that girl put it? Oh yeah 'Don't dilly dally!'" He slapped on Cloud's shoulder blades as if to say "giddy up!"

Annoyed, Cloud was about to start walking when a gruff voice entered his ears. "The Dark Insects… use your senses to find and destroy all twelve of them and collect the Tears of Light in this container… and come find me... oh hero chosen by the gods." As suddenly as the voice started, it ended.

"Well I guess we know what to do now!" Zack exclaimed, examining the container that had materialized in his hands. "And I think I see our first victim." He pointed over to purple electrical sparks that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Remember what that voice said? Use your senses Cloud!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and allowed all his senses to focus solely on those sparks. Before his eyes, the world darkened and he saw a bug like creature scuttling along the ground. He lowered his haunches and emitted a low growl. He stalked up to it quietly and barked loudly as he leaped towards it. He bit down into it as hard as he could, and stepped back to watch it explode. From its body came a brilliant ball of blue light. It glided easily over to the container and went inside it.

"One down, eleven to go!" Zack yelled happily, kicking his feet.

And so the searched the northern part of Faron Woods. Zack had explained earlier that the people of Midgar were not aware of the effects of the Twilight, but Cloud couldn't help but feel sorry for the hippie that was cowering in fear of the insects he could not see.

As they traveled further north, they discovered that the ravine they had to cross was full of a poisonous smog. "Here, follow me." Zack offered. Using the imp as a guide, Cloud skillfully jumped across tree branches, rocks and outcroppings until he landed on the other side. He walked up to the entrance of the Forest Temple and recognized the Moogles that had messed with him previously. They were being tormented by some Dark Insects, and Cloud took them out easily.

It didn't take long for all the Insects to be destroyed and all the tears of light to be gathered. When the last tear was collected, the Twilight disappeared completely. And yet, Cloud remained a wolf. He glared at Zack who simply shrugged and suggested they find the voice that had spoken to them earlier.

They found the Spirit Spring easily. This time, a large masculine figure who identified himself as Ifirt spoke to Cloud. He turned Cloud back into a human, and explained even more overwhelming things about the young man's apparent destiny.

Cloud and Zack, taking refuge in Cloud's shadow made their way to the Forest Temple. They encountered opposition in the form of Deku Babas and the like, but they were easily felled by a swing or two from the sword.

Standing in front of entrance to the massive tree, Zack appeared in front of Cloud. "Ready for your first real challenge?" He sounded surprisingly serious.

"As long as I don't have to deal with the Moogles that live here, I'm ready for anything." He placed his hands on the smooth surface that was the door and with a loud grunt pushed it open. Drawing his sword to prepare for whatever awaited him, he entered the cavern before him.


	10. Day 10: Ninjas

Day 10: Ninjas

Note: I was wracking my brain trying to think of something to do with Yuffie. I eventually settled on this, hope you enjoy!

Special thanks to Haybale on twitter for helping remind me how dumb Naruto is.

It was sometimes easy to forget that Yuffie was very proud of her heritage. She never really showed it and slacked on her ninja training, but she was a very proud warrior from Wutai. And one to be feared as well. It wasn't an uncommon thing to discuss how deadly she would if she took her training more seriously. But when she did get serious about being a ninja, she got _very_ serious.

An instance occurred one day before Seventh Heaven opened. Yuffie had been in Edge and decided to stop by. Tifa had welcomed the company; Cloud was out on a delivery job. The ninja in training was sitting at the counter talking idly with her friend when Marlene and Denzel came rushing down the stairwell.

"Shadow Copy Jutsu!" Denzel yelled, making some sort of weird gesture with his hands.

"That's no fair!" Marlene scolded him. "Only Guruto knows Shadow Copy Jutsu!"

"W-well, I'm his apprentice!" Denzel countered.

"Fine then I'm Soosake's apprentice! And I can do that fire ball thing!" She cupped her mouth with her hands and blew, turning her head left and right. "There, now all your copies are destroyed." She placed her hands to her hips and grinned victoriously.

"Kids!" Tifa yelled over the counter. "If you're going to play like that, play outside."

"Okay Tifa!" They both agreed in unison. They ran towards the door with their arms out stretched behind them, kind of making them look like a triangle.

"Sorry about that, Yuffie." Tifa laughed. "They've been watching this new cartoon and it's _all_ they ever play now." The smile fell off her face when she noticed that Yuffie was wearing a deep frown. "What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Yuffie tried to shrug it off, but Tifa wasn't buying it. She walked around the counter and sat in the stool next to her friend. She gave her a look that said "I don't believe you for a second". Yuffie sighed and rested her head in her hand.

"It's that dumb cartoon." She admitted. "It makes a mockery of real ninjas."

"Well Yuffie, it's just a cartoon. Of course it's not going to be accurate to real life."

"I _know_ that," she sighed, "but ever since it started airing more and more people are coming to Wutai for training."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Tifa tilted her head in confusion.

"I mean I guess." Yuffie took a sip of her drink that had been sitting untouched. "But they come in with these grand, unrealistic expectations of what ninjas are like and get upset when it's not like in that dumb cartoon." She slammed her fist on the table, causing the glass to shake. "Why would you even think it's possible to create copies of yourself in the first place!?"

"It's unlike you to get so serious about stuff like this." Tifa noted.

"I know," Yuffie whined, tilting her head back and running her hand down her face. "But just as it looked like people were starting to take Wutai seriously again, this happens!" She stared Tifa right in the eye. "Can you believe that there are already people back home using Materia to trick people into thinking they can do all those dumb things from the show?" She groaned and banged her head against the counter.

Tifa reached out and placed a comforting hand on her back. "I understand your frus-" She was cut off when Yuffie suddenly raised her head and leaped to her feet.

Stretching her arms behind her like Denzel and Marlene earlier, she started walking around, purposefully looking idiotic. "What's with the way they run!? This looks so dumb! Real ninjas would never run like that."

Tifa opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off again. "And those stupid hand gestures." She began moving her fingers and hands around in front of her frantically before throwing her arms in the air. "Like what is that!? Why not just use Materia!?" By this point, Tifa was just sitting back letter her rant.

"A-and you don't just _go_ to ninja school one day! You start training the day you're able to walk!" She quieted down and a look of contemplation crossed her face. "Then again that might just be because Godo is my dad." The look vanished almost as instantly as it appeared and she raised her voice again. "But anyway! You don't just go to a ninja school!"

Her rant continued for what felt like hours to Tifa, but she didn't mind. Yuffie was rarely this passionate and serious about her lineage and it was pretty entertaining to watch. Plus, she brought up some good points about how the cartoon just completely disregards real ninja culture for the sake of looking cool.

Finally exhausted, Yuffie finally sat back down. She took a deep breath and laughed nervously. "Wow, sorry Tifa. Didn't mean to go off like that."

"Nah, it's fine!" Tifa laughed and took a sip of a drink she had poured herself during Yuffie's yelling rampage. "It's nice to see you so passionate about this stuff. You're usually so passive about the fact that you're an actual, real ninja."

Yuffie blushed a deep red and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Is that so? Thanks, I guess." She chuckled awkwardly and when she spoke again, she sounded sad. "I mean it's cool that ninjas are finally getting used in popular culture but the fact that it's such a disgrace to everything I know… it kinda sucks."

"Well," Tifa offered, "what if you went out and taught Marlene and Denzel what it's like to be a _real_ ninja." Yuffie's face lit up.

"Tifa, you're genius!" She stood up with a wide grin plastered on her face and with confidence sparkling in her eyes. "That's right! Instead of having them pretend they're leaping from tree to tree, I can actually teach them how to do that. And I can give them actual knives to play with instead of them throwing rocks at each other!"

The smile that Tifa had instantly sunk into a concerned frown. "Yuffie, wait-!" She tried to stop her, but Yuffie was already through the door. Jumping to her feet, Tifa chased after her hoping that all those lessons on safety she and Cloud had drilled into the children's heads actually stuck with them.


	11. Day 11: The Buster Sword

Day 11: The Buster Sword

Note: Random POV update ahoy! I figured I'd try to shake things up a bit and write this one from Cloud's point of view. I haven't written first person in about two years so I might be a bit rusty. Another shorty, this one is.

Something felt wrong the first time I used a weapon other than the Buster Sword. It had been in the Shinra Headquarters, when I stole that blade from a guardsman. It dealt more damage and wasn't as unwieldy as the Buster Sword to carry, but something just felt off. A feeling of guilt would creep over me whenever I swung it. That feeling only got worse when we started storing our equipment with the guys over at Fort Condor. Seeing the Buster Sword sitting there, unused left me with an uneasy feeling.

With each consecutive weapon I got, I would always think of the sword over in Fort Condor. I never knew why I felt guilty, I just _did_. And I wouldn't learn why for a very long time.

The revelation that my memories weren't real was a shocker to say the least. I was in a very dark place and according to the guys, I was basically comatose for a while. And when I came to, I suddenly remembered everything. Well, almost everything.

It took a lot of convincing on my end to get everyone to go back to Nibelheim. For some reason, I felt a calling to the basement of that old mansion. Not in the way that Sephiroth had manipulated me, but I somehow knew that going back there would help. And it did, for better or for worse, it helped.

Zack. Everything he had done for me. Everything he had given up so I could live. And I had forgotten _all_ about him. I hated myself for a while, but eventually shook it off. Zack died so I could live and living in a state of despair was no way to carry one's self.

But the thing was, I finally understood that feeling I had about the Buster Sword. He had given it to me and I had just cast it aside, like it was nothing but a used and broken toy. I tried to use it again, but it just doesn't get the job done. An enemy's armor might be too thick to pierce. I might be too slow in my swing because I haven't used it in so long. No matter what the reason was, Zack's memento just wasn't working the way I wanted it to.

It's hanging in my room on the Highwind now. This is going to sound weird, but I… I talk to it sometimes. I like to pretend that Zack is listening from the Lifestream. I told him how I got a technique scroll for an attack called Omnislash. I told him how difficult it was to defeat Ruby Weapons and Emerald Weapon. I lamented to him the horrors of breeding Chocobos, but how it was worth it to get Knights of the Round.

I felt a little guilty boasting my new sword, the Ultima Weapon to Zack because I knew he would have loved it. I had a lot of fun telling him how I got it though. Chasing around Ultimate Weapon and forging the blade from its scales. I didn't feel bad about using it. I had long since remembered something Zack had told me when I asked if he ever used the sword. "Use brings about wear, tear and rust."

It's almost time for us to head down into the crater and finish Sephiroth off once and for all. I won't lie, I'm kind of nervous. Everyone is expecting me to be some sort of great and mighty leader and I'm here babbling my worries off to a sword hanging on the wall in my room.

I hear Cid calling for me, telling me we're about the land at the Northern Crater. I pick the Buster Sword from its holder on the wall and I place my forehead and close my eyes. " _Protect your honor as SOLDIER."_ Zack's voice echoes in my ears. I never made it into SOLDIER, I know that now. But yet, remembering those words inspires a sense of confidence. I suddenly feel like I can take on the whole world.

Forehead still touching the blade, I smile a little. "My name is Cloud. I'm better than any SOLDIER Shinra could ever ask for."


	12. Day 12: Cloud and Zack

Day 12: Cloud and Zack

Note: **This fic is a one sided Clack (Cloud/Zack) fic on Cloud's side.**

This is my magnum opus tbh. It's all downhill from here.

Despite being newly promoted to First Class, Zack still managed to find time in his day stop by and say hi to Cloud. And it's not like Cloud was easy to get to; the barracks where infantrymen trained were off site and when they were in the Shinra building, they were a good fifteen or so floors below Zack at any given time.

Most of the time, their schedules didn't intermix well. But today was a special day, a holiday of some sort. Nobody in the building knew what they were celebrating, it means that almost everyone had the day off which was not something to be taken for granted.

Cloud had ran into Zack as entered the building after getting some fresh air. Zack was on his way out. A huge smile spread across Cloud's face as he raised his hand to greet his friend.

"Hey, Cloud!" Zack, who seemed to be in a hurry slowed down to say hello. "What'cha up to on your day off?"

"Oh uh, not much really. I was just taking a walk to get some fresh air." He paused and laughed. "Or, as fresh as Midgar will allow."

"I feel you there man, it's always so nice getting missions outside of this drab place." He glanced at a clock on a wall. "Hey man, I don't really have time to talk, there's this girl I need to meet up with and-"

"It's fine Zack." Cloud cut him off with a chuckle. "It was nice seeing you though."

"How bout we meet up for dinner later tonight? We haven't really had time to talk much lately."

Cloud's face lit up and he nodded eagerly. "Sure, sounds great!" He flashed a toothy grin before running out the door.

Cloud's day dragged on after that. He spent some time chatting with some friends he had made in the barracks, and while he genuinely enjoyed their company, his mind kept drifting back to Zack. For some reason, he found himself more excited than usual to spend some time with his friend.

He was delighted to see Zack in the mess hall, turning his head looking his friend. When he made eye contact with Cloud, he started waving his arms like a mad man, causing everyone else in the huge room to stare at him. Feeling only slightly embarrassed, Cloud made his way through the crowd of people. He gently placed his tray of food on the metal table and down.

"Ey Cloud!" Zack said through a mouthful of food, spitting crumbs all over the table. He finished chewing and swallowed. "Ah, sorry about that."

"No worries, it didn't get on my food." Not that Cloud would have really cared anyway. He took a bite of his food. Tonight's dinner was a mystery meat sandwich on probably stale bread. Shrina knew how to treat their employees, that was for sure. "Anyway, how was your date?"

"It wasn't so much of a date than her introducing me to her mom." Zack sighed. "That's why I was so concerned about running late, I wanted to make a good impression."

"Did you?"

"I'd like to think so!" He laughed. And yet, Cloud couldn't help but frown inwardly. For whatever reason, he was glad that Zack hadn't considered today's outing a date. He was glad that Zack was happy but yet he felt jealous for reasons he didn't quite understand. Pushing the feeling aside, he smiled at Zack's laughter.

The two continued to chat idly. Zack was very aware of Cloud's ambitions to eventually join the ranks of SOLDIER and eagerly told him tales of his exploits among the elite. Cloud absorbed every piece of information Zack told him, and always interjected with all sorts of different questions. Not only was he storing that information for his own use when he gets evaluated, but he also just thought everything Zack said and did was super cool.

Eventually, after the two had finished eating, Zack snapped his fingers as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, I got some new Materia today!" He dug around in his pouches and pulled out three small orbs. He showed them to Cloud and his eyes widened. Grinning, he put them back. "Wanna go see them in action? Maybe I'll even let you use them!"

Cloud remained silent and avoided Zack's gaze. "I'm uh… not very good with Materia." There had been more times than he would like to admit where he cast a spell only to have it literally blow up in his face. He was arguably the _worst_ Materia user in the entire barracks.

"Well that's no problem, I can teach you all the tricks in the book." Before he could even give Cloud time to object, he had stood up and forced Cloud to his feet by grabbing him under his arm. Holding him by the wrist, he guided Cloud through the mess hall, talking about Materia and the proper form you should use to cast it. But Cloud was barely listening; all he could hear was his heart pounding in his chest.

Before he knew it, Zack was pushing him into the training room. Cloud was going to question how he knew it would be empty, but decided against it. Zack was Zack and Zack knew _everything_ in his eyes.

Zack sauntered over to a computer panel and pressed a few buttons. A mechanical whirring filled the room as some dummies rose from the ground. Zack opened the door to the training area and motioned for Cloud to follow.

"Alright, so you said you're bad with Materia right?" Zack pulled all the Materia from his pouches and placed them in the palm of his hands. "So we _probably_ shouldn't use Mastered Materia." He put two of the orbs away. He started at the remaining ones in deep concentration. "Lightning or Fire would probably be the best ones to teach you with. Yeah, that's what we'll do." He dumped the two he named into his other hand and put the rest away.

"Okay, first I'll demonstrate proper casting form. Stand back a bit, okay Cloud?" Cloud nodded and stepped back a few feet. "When you're first learning, it's important to make sure your body is structurally sound. A sound body leads to a sound mind, and you need a clear head to cast well." With that being said, he faced towards one of the dummies and held the Materia out in front of him. His entire body was ridged and Cloud was astutely aware of how arm muscles flexed with minor movements. Cloud's concentration was broken by a sudden loud bang. He felt his hair stand on end as a bolt of lightning left Zack's hand and scorched the dummy he was aimed at.

"And there you go." Zack turned back to him and extended his arm, offering the Materia to Cloud. He nervously stepped forward and carefully took it from his hand. He walked a bit further past Zack and faced one of the dummies.

He tried to imitate Zack's stance, squaring his shoulders and bending his knees slightly. "Close," he heard Zack say from behind him, "but your arms are still too loose. Here, let me help." Cloud felt the heat rise to his face as his companion gingerly placed his hands on his arms and made minute adjustments to their positioning. "Good, that's better but now you're leaning forward too much." He sidestepped behind Cloud and placed his hands on his shoulders. He straightened them, causing Cloud to lean back a little. "And finally, your hips are just slightly unaligned."

Cloud's already hot cheeks grew even hotter as Zack placed his hands on his hips and moved his positioning slightly. He bit his bottom lip and exhaled sharply through his nose, trying to shoo away the lewd thoughts that had popped into his head.

"There you go!" Zack stepped back, clasping his hands together in delight. "Now just clear your mind, and focus on the Materia in your hand."

Taking a few deep breaths, Cloud tried to do just that but it was so hard. All the feelings Cloud had had about Zack since they first met were finally starting to make sense and it was confusing and exhilarating and overwhelming and _oh god he finally realized that Zack is really hot._

"Cloud," Zack sounded concerned, "you okay bud?"

"Y-yeah." He tried to reassure himself as well as Zack. "Just nervous a bit." Which wasn't a total lie.

He closed his eyes and tried once more to clear his mind. Finally, he was able to get Zack's face out of his thoughts. Taking one more deep breath, he focused on the Materia in his hand. He felt a familiar tingling sensation fill his body and he felt the lightning escape his fingertips. It hadn't blown up in his face! He broke into a huge grin and immediately Zack's smiling face reestablished itself as his dominant thought. He turned around and was surprised to see panic across his friend's face.

"Cloud' get down!" Zack tackled Cloud to ground and cast Barrier. Incredibly confused at first, everything made sense when the lightning bolt hit the shield that he had cast around the two of them. The barrier dissipated and Zack stood up and helped Cloud to his feet.

"What was that, Cloud?" He sounded more amused than disappointed. "You were so close to casting it perfectly!"

Cloud blushed a bit. What was he supposed to say? " _I realized I like you as more than a friend and that distracted me?_ " No he couldn't say that, he has a girlfriend. And it could ruin their friendship if he didn't take it well.

"I uh, got nervous towards the end… Sorry Zack."

Zack placed a hand on his shoulder and flashed a thumbs up. "Hey man, you did better than I thought you would. I was expecting it backfire really bad." He laughed and ruffled Cloud's hair. "I'm proud of you though. That was almost perfect. I'm sure that if we keep practicing like this you'll be a master Materia user in no time. What say you? Same time, same place next week?"

Cloud looked into Zack's eyes and his heart raced when he saw just how _happy_ Zack looked. He looked so proud of Cloud's accomplishment. And making Zack happy was enough to make Cloud happy, which is all that really mattered. He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world."


	13. Day 13: Cerah Aerith Lockhart

Day 13: Cerah Aerith Lockhart

Note: Otherwise known as "Reno and Rude babysitting misadventures".

So Pokémon has kinda taken over my life. I'm playing it as I write this. My 'Dex is 59% completed. I have over 50 hours clocked.

Sorry about that.

 **Although this is not a ship fic, this fic centers on a Cloti (Cloud/Tifa) lovechild because I'm shipping trash and I put too much effort into creating her.**

"Okay, so her bedtime is 9 o'clock, she won't eat Chocobo meat, she is under no circumstances allowed near the Materia bin…" Tifa idly listed things about her daughter to the men standing in front of her. "Am I forgetting anything, Cloud?"

"No throwing knives in the house." Her partner added. He paused for a moment before adding, "Actually, no knives without supervision at all."

"Why does an eight year-old have knives at all?" Reno asked, deadpan.

Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Blame Yuffie. We tried to take them from her but she cried and cried and-"

"So she's spoiled then?" Rude snickered.

Laughing, Tifa crossed her arms. "Yeah, Cerah has Cloud wrapped around her little fingers." Cloud glared at her, making her laugh some more.

Sighing, Cloud looked up at Reno and Rude. "I'm serious about the knives though." He stepped forward, causing the two former Turks to step back. His voice lowered and he sounded almost like he was growling. "If I come back to find that she has been hurt in any way, I'll break your goddamn necks. Do I make myself clear?" Eyes wide, Reno and Rude nodded their heads enthusiastically. Cloud stepped back and smirked. "Good."

Giggling, Tifa bent own and picked up a suitcase by her feet. "We'll be back from Gold Saucer in two days. We both have our PHS', so feel free to call if anything pops up!" She walked out the front door, followed by Cloud who was holding another suitcase. He gave the two babysitters one more glare before shutting the door behind him. Reno and Rude remained in silence until they heard Cloud's bike rev up and fade out in the distance.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Reno slumped into a chair and reeled his head back, running his hand down his cheek. "What happened to us Rude? We used to be Turks, the best of the best. Now look at us, we're babysitting for crying out-loud."

"Hmph." Reno crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Gil is gil." He stated simply.

"Why are they even going to Gold Saucer?" The red-head mused. "Second honeymoon?"

"They never got married in the first place, it can't be a second honeymoon if there wasn't a first."

Ren raised a brow in surprise. "Not married and they have an eight-year old kid? Wonder if she was planned."

"That's none of our business." Rude said gruffly.

"Yeah, yeah." Reno kicked back and rested his feet on the table in front of him. "They said she should be getting home from her friend's house soon, right?"

As if he had summoned her, Cloud and Tifa's daughter opened the front door and walked cheerfully into the bar. Cerah Aerith Lockhart was a spunky kid with hair almost identical to her father's, with the only differing factor being a tuft of dark brown above her forehead. Her blue eyes glowed liked Cloud's, but nearly as intensely. Her parents let her wear basically whatever she wanted, today she was sporting a pink tutu and a striped tee-shirt with camo knee high socks. She was covered in dirt and mud; Tifa has mentioned she liked to rough house around with her friends.

"Hey there, kid." Reno raised a hand in greeting, trying to appear friendly. "We're watching you for your ma and pa."

Cerah, who had been untying her shoes and hadn't noticed the two of them, glanced up and a wide grin spread across her face. "Oh you must be 'those two idiots' Daddy told me about!" The smile Reno had dropped to a frown, and even though Rude was wearing sunglasses, he could see the look of disappointment on his face. That didn't seem to faze the girl, who finished kicking off her shoes and skipped over to them.

"So which of you is Rude and which is Reno."

"I'm Rude." He spoke up first. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Cerah."

"And I'm Reno." He stood up, pointing to himself with his thumb. "The best damn uncle you'll ever have."

"Reno, watch your language around this child." Rude scolded him, making him chuckle and shrug.

"Nah it's fine!" She said happily, bouncing up and down. "Daddy says worse words _all_ the time." She frowned slightly and mumbled the next part under her breath. "Mama gets mad when I repeat them though."

"So what do you wanna do, kiddo?" Reno asked. "Your parents are gone for two whole days."

"I wanna practice my throwing skills!" She said loudly. Before either man had the chance to reply, she had ran upstairs, presumably to her room.

"Lively kid." Rude remarked, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, I can see why Cloud's so protective of her." Reno agreed with a nod. "She's got enough energy to get herself seriously hurt."

"He also missed the first four years of her life fighting in that war near the Canyon." Rude reminded him. "He probably feels overly protective of her for that reason."

Reno placed his hands behind his head. "Eh, you're thinking about this way too deeply." He said dismissively. The sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs caught their attention. Cerah raced down the stairs and stopped in front of her two babysitters. She had changed outfits. Now donning a bright pink tank-top, frayed shorts and combat books, she held a bag of what Reno could only perceive to be knives in her right hand. A small scar peaked out from under her shirt near her neck.

"Where'd ya get that from?" Reno asked curiously, motioning towards the injury with his head.

"Oh this?" Cerah pointed to it. "Daddy gave it to me."

"Excuse me?" Reno sounded shocked.

"We were training and he accidentally hit me with that big sword of his. He thought he had dulled it enough." She frowned a bit. "He was really, really sad for a while." She beamed again. "But he's all better now! He uses a stick now when we train."

Reno and Rude exchanged quick glances. So _that_ was why he was over protective of her.

"Right," Rude nodded. "You dad said no knives inside. Is there a place we can go?"

"Mm-hmm!" Cerah nodded and motioned for them to follow her. Doing so, she led them outside and behind the bar. There was a surprisingly spacious empty lot with straw dummies, planks of wood with targets on them, a few stools and a barrel full of apples.

"Quite the set-up they got here." Reno whistled in appreciation.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from the group that stopped Sephiroth and Meteor." Rude nodded in agreement.

Cerah ran across the lot and grabbed and apple. Placing it on stool, she stood a few yards away. "Mama and Daddy have mentioned those things before." She said to Reno and Rude as she dug through her sack of knives. "I ask about it, but they said I'm too young to understand."

"Yet she's old enough to use throwing knives." Reno muttered under his breath.

They watched her throw her weapon of choice for few minutes. Although she was supposed to be aiming for the apple, her shots kept missing and landing on a plank situated behind it. Her throws had power to them- they stuck into the wood firmly.

Reno was about to step up to offer some assistance with aiming when she suddenly struck the apple dead center. Jumping for joy, she replaced it with another. And then another. And another. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten apples. All hit with perfect accuracy in quick succession.

"All right!" She turned to Rude and flashed a toothy grin. She handed him an apple. "Can you put this on your head and stand over there?"

"What?" Rude shouted.

"I'm done warming up, now it's time for the real deal."

"That doesn't seem very safe-"

"Aw come on Rude," Reno had a sly smile on his face. "You wouldn't want to make her sad right? Cuz if she gets sad, she might tell her dad. _And_ her mom."

Rude sighed, adjusted his sunglasses and grabbed the apple from Cerah's awaiting hand.


End file.
